Rural Economy Spotlight - March 2026

A quarterly bulletin facilitated by your membership of the Rural Services Network highlighting a selection of current rural economic development news, issues and opportunities

Rural Innovation centre looks to the future

With the benefit of renewed strategic backing, the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (NICRE) is looking forward to its next phase of development with priorities for the coming years including:

• Growing the portfolio of impactful rural innovation projects
• Strengthening NICRE’s research and partner network
• Expanding the Innovation Portal and practical resources
• Providing deeper insight and evidence to shape national and regional policy

The NICRE founding partners are Newcastle University’s Centre for Rural Economy and Business School, Enterprise Research Centre at Warwick and the Countryside and Community Research Institute at the University of Gloucestershire and Royal Agricultural University.

Professor Jeremy Philipson, Director of NICRE, said: “The relationships developed with rural businesses, community leaders, local authorities and national bodies have been at the heart of everything we’ve achieved.”

“NICRE is an innovation centre in the truest sense. A space where ideas can be tested, where new collaborations can form, and where the needs of rural areas and businesses can be met with creativity and rigour. The vitality of this partnership is what has made NICRE impactful, and it’s what gives me confidence for the years ahead.”

You can read more about NICRE and access the Innovation Portal at this link.

Rural connectivity cannot be an afterthought

Rural connectivity shapes whether rural businesses can compete, whether residents can access healthcare and education, and whether communities can feel secure and connected in an increasingly digital world.

At the recent RSN member exclusive connectivity seminar, members explored a simple but urgent question: are rural areas being fully included in the UK’s digital future?

Despite significant national progress, the gap remains clear. Urban areas are nearing universal gigabit access, while rural areas continue to lag behind. In the most remote communities, coverage drops further still. Government programmes such as Project Gigabit and the Shared Rural Network are designed to close that gap, yet delivery in hard-to-reach areas remains fragile when commercial models are stretched

The discussion reinforced that connectivity must be treated as essential infrastructure as fundamental as roads, energy and water. You can read more from the seminar at this link.

Delivering Good Growth – iED seek views

The Institute of Economic Development (iED) has launched the first draft of their 2026 Delivering Good Growth report, “to make sure policy and practice reflect what works in real places.”

This is part of a wider piece of work to help shape a national conversation about what growth should deliver for people and places.

They state: “Our starting point is simple: growth should not be judged by economic output alone. It should also be judged by whether it improves lives, widens opportunity, strengthens communities and supports long-term environmental progress.”

The draft report already includes several iED member case studies, but further real-world examples and evidence is being sought to make it even stronger.

A number of focus group sessions are being organised – including one focussed on Rural Economies on 26th May.

To find out more and to get involved, you can read more information here.

RSN 2026 seminar programme – booking open

The RSN member exclusive Seminar Programme for 2026, brings together industry experts, rural practitioners, and sector leaders to explore the major issues shaping rural communities across England.

Our seminars are a core RSN member benefit, highly interactive, and designed to support learning, collaboration, and real-world problem-solving.  In 2025 we welcomed 450 delegates from across our membership at our seminar events!

The 2026 programme covers a wide range of rural priorities as follows:

• Rural communities – 25th March
• Rural economy – 29th April
• Rural transport – 3rd June
• Rural affordable housing – 15th July
• Rural planning – 4th November
• Rural health and care – 2nd December

You can view the full timetable book directly here.

Government publishes £1 billion Local Power Plan

The Government and Great British Energy have launched the £1 billion Local Power Plan, setting out a vision that by 2030 every community will have the opportunity to own a local energy project.

The plan sets out how government aims to grow local and community-owned clean energy across the UK, ensuring that communities directly benefit from the energy they help to produce.

They state: “We will expand community and local clean energy by providing up to £1 billion of funding, hands-on support, better business models and policy ambition and regulatory reform so that local projects can be developed at scale across the UK.”

You can read more here.

Government consults on geography of Spatial Development Strategies

The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government is seeking initial views on the proposed geography over which spatial development strategies (SDS) should be prepared.

This is intended to allow prospective strategic planning authorities to understand the geographical area for which they may be planning. It is also intended to allow them to carry out preparatory work on their SDS, ahead of legislation coming into force, following the passing of the government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill.

This consultation closes on 26 March 2026 and full details can be found here.

EV charger grant scheme extended until March 2027

Renters, flat owners, homeowners without driveways and businesses will be able to save up to £500 when installing electric vehicle (EV) charge points, following an extension to the chargepoint grant amounts announced at the end of February.

For businesses, the Workplace Charging Scheme will provide up to £500 per socket towards the cost of installing chargepoints at workplaces. You can apply for grants for up to 40 sockets across all your sites.

It is open to eligible:

• businesses
• charities
• public sector organisations

Further details are available at this link.

Rural England statistical digest available

The Statistical Digest of Rural England is a collection of statistics on a range of social and economic topics and provides broad comparisons between Rural and Urban areas by settlement type.

Prepared by DEFRA, the Digest is structured into thematic reports and incorporates the previously separate publication the Rural Economic Bulletin.

The Digest consists of the following thematic reports:

• Population
• Housing
• Health and Wellbeing
• Communities and Households
• Connectivity and Accessibility
• Education, Qualifications and Training
• Rural Economic Bulletin
• Energy

You can access all the contents at the following link: About the Digest and Rural Definitions - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The most recent rural economic statistics can be found at this link.

Local Net Zero Hubs support available to councils and communities

The Local Net Zero Hubs programme helps local authorities and communities in England to play a leading role in decarbonisation, supporting local authorities to develop net zero projects and attract commercial investment.

Find out more about the Local Net Zero Hub in your area follow the relevant link below:

• North East and Yorkshire Local Net Zero Hub
• North West Local Net Zero Hub
• Midlands Local Net Zero Hub
• South West Local Net Zero Hub
• South East Local Net Zero Hub

Further information on the support available can be found at this link.

Local business organisations – keep calm and sign up!

RSN exists to enable the issues facing the rural areas of England to be identified, information and good practice to be shared and government to be challenged to address the needs and build on the opportunities which abound in rural areas.  We have a number of Chambers of Trade, Commerce and Local Business Networks who are members of RSN and currently receive our bulletins.  If there is a business organisation in your area who you think would find our bulletins useful, please pass this bulletin onto them and ask them to contact Andy Dean with their contact details so we can ensure they are included in future distributions.

Future editions of the Rural Economy Spotlight

The next edition of this bulletin will be distributed in June 2026.  If you have any suggestions as to future content or would like to submit a short article for inclusion, please contact Andy Dean.